


Love Triangle

by asliceoftoast



Category: Grey's Anatomy
Genre: F/M, Family, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-11
Updated: 2020-07-11
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:14:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25199089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asliceoftoast/pseuds/asliceoftoast
Summary: A look into what should have been a routine drop off at April's.
Relationships: Jackson Avery/April Kepner
Kudos: 37





	Love Triangle

"I miss mommy," Harriet whined, as she stared out the window. Some upbeat pop song hummed in the background on the radio as Jackson drove.

"Well, you're going to her house tonight." Jackson waited for a beat before blurting out the question he held on the tip of his tongue. "How is she?"

"Uhh. She's okay," Harriet answered after a while. "Mommy has a new friend who makes her really happy."

"Oh," Jackson murmured. While he was glad that his ex-wife was finding her happiness, it still stung that it wasn't with him.

It had been close to five years since their divorce took place. April had moved to Twisp, Washington, a small town 219 miles outside of Seattle with a population of 970 people. Essentially, no man's land. To say that it was a drastic change from Seattle was an understatement, but April had settled back into her small-town roots, flourishing in ways that she couldn't in the city. She started her own backyard garden and was raising chickens. It was like she had never set foot in Seattle at all.

With acres of green grass to roam and a tire swing hanging from the aging tree in the front yard, it was clear which house Harriet preferred. An apartment flat with zero space to run around in could never compete.

Harriet was entering kindergarten, and Jackson and April's relationship was still confusing as ever. Neither of them had ventured back into dating, no matter how many people insisted that they needed to get over each other. After April's accident, the pestering only got worse. It seemed like everybody knew that the two still loved each other, no matter how messy the divorce was, except for Jackson and April themselves.

The car weaved through the wooded forest and towards the tiny house that April had bought when she had moved.

Deep down, Jackson still felt that she belonged in the trauma bay at Grey Sloan Memorial, but once April Kepner was convinced of something, there was no way to change her mind. A fact he knew best from being at the receiving end of that determination many times during their relationship.

"What's her name?" Harriet giggled loudly, she tiny features squishing as she jerked back and forth in her car seat. "What's so funny, Bug?"

"It's not a she. Mommy's new friend is a guy." Jackson did his best to not let his jealousy get the best of him. They were divorced he reminded himself. It was only natural that April would move on to someone new. "His name is Matthew," Harriet announced, gutting Jackson. He hoped that it wasn't the person that he thought it was, but his little girl's next sentence just confirmed his worst nightmare. "He has a girl that's a little younger than me. She's shy, but I like her."

His mind raced as he drove, swirling with questions about April's new relationship with her ex-fiancé.

What was going on between them?

Were they dating?

And worst of all, did April regret running from him at the wedding all those years ago?

Before he could fall further down the rabbit hole, the duo pulled into the long dirt driveway of April's property. Amidst the scenery of the setting sun, the yellow glow of the porch lights beaconed to them through the darkening sky. April sat listlessly on her rocking chair, a sign that she had been expecting them for a while.

Harriet leaped out of her father's car and bolted down the driveway up to her mother's house. April stood up a wide simile on her face. She knelt, arms outstretched as her daughter collided into her welcoming body.

"Hi, baby! What did you and your dad do today?" April twirled around, her auburn waves akin to the fiery tones of the sleepy sun.

"We went to the fair and he bought me a triple cone ice cream. I ate it all by myself of course," the little girl boasted.

"You did?" April asked inquisitively. "Daddy didn't help you?"

"Nope. All by myself mama." April smiled, holding her daughter's face in her hands before pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"Okay, baby girl. Why don't you go on inside and get ready for bed? Your daddy and I need to have a little talk." Harriet nodded as she slipped out of her mother's grasp.

"Hey, April," she heard her ex-husband say. April watched her daughter prance inside before turning to him.

"You're late," she sighed. "and I thought we agreed on not giving her sugar before bed. Clearly, you've forgotten. You know how restless she gets when she eats sweets."

"Come on, April. Loosen up. She just had ice cream."

"It's not just ice cream, Jackson. She ate three scoops," April chastised a pointed finger poised to dig into his chest. Her brows furrowing as she attempted to cool her rapidly increasing temper. "Three! Right before you drop her off. I swear, it's like you do this on purpose." Jackson lifted his hands up defensively, the giant unicorn plushie he carried caught her attention. Jackson placed Harriet's luggage down on the porch, one foot on the pressed dirt, the other on the first step.

"It's not like that, April and you know that. We had fun. She had fun. Hattie wanted ice cream, so I got her one. As for the first issue, I'm sorry about being late, I lost track of time at the fair." April sighed, massaging the tension in her hands. There was no way she could be mad about her daughter bonding with her father, it was all she wanted, but there was an inkling of anger she held onto. An ingot of frustration that April clung to.

April smoothed out her furrowed eyebrows, trying her best to tame her emotions. "I'm not mad about you being late. Jackson, I could never be mad about your bonding with our daughter. I'm mad about how you get to bend the rules to your liking, but the moment I step out of line, you get to blow up at me. It's not fair, and you know it."

"At least I don't keep secrets from you," he muttered with an accusatory tone.

"Excuse me?" April shrilled, her anger only dampened by the presence of their child.

"I know about Matthew." Jackson blurted out. A surprised look flashed across her face.

"What does Matthew have to do with this?"

"Are you dating him?" he repeated steadily, albeit a bit detached. "I mean if he's going to be around Hattie, then I just want to know. She is my daughter, and I want to look out of her." April's face flushed, fingers stretching before she clenched them tightly.

"Are you saying that I don't care about Hattie's well being? That's low, Jackson. I'm not dating him. I'm just checking in on his daughter. The baby that I delivered. But for your information, my love life is none of your business. You are not my husband, you lost your rights to know anything about my personal life the moment that you divorced me," she seethed. Jackson's face blanched at the harsh reminder of what he had lost, what he had let go of. April froze when she realized what she said. She never meant to bring up their tumultuous divorce as leverage over her husband. It was a sore spot for both of them, but his insinuation hurt.

The two of them stared at each other, a silent apology conveyed through their demeanor. April broke the silence with a soft voice, "I think you should go." Jackson looked up at her, an ethereal halo around her in the sky. Like the sun closing in on the end of the day only to rise once more, the two of them were trapped in the destructive cycle of hurt and love. He placed the plush animal in her hands, walking slowly to his car. "It's for the best," she whispered meekly.

"Tell Hattie that I love her." Jackson stared at April for a moment longer before climbing behind the wheel.

April nodded, grabbing the luggage and brining the two items inside.

Harriet scampered out onto the porch through the open door as Jackson's car engine roared to life.

"Why's daddy going so soon?" She waved animately to her father, her sugar high beginning to fade as she draped herself against the railing. "He didn't even say goodbye." Hattie pouted, staring at the retreating car. The consequences of her actions weighed on April, stifling her breath in the crisp mountain air.

"I know, Bug. I'm sorry." April twirled her fingers in Harriet's curls, the little girl grasping the light cotton of her mother's sundress. As the two ladies watched his car disappear into the distance, the night closed in, stars twinkling in sharp shimmers against the black sky. "He loves you, Bug. No matter what." Harriet buried her face into her mother's side.

"I miss daddy." Those three words hung in the air. Biting her lip to distract from the tears that pooled in her eyes, April scooped her child into her arms. Hattie rested her head on April's shoulder, eyes fluttering closed as her breathing slowed to sweet soft puffs of air. April closed the screen door behind her with one glance back into the outdoors. With a kiss onto Hattie's tiny forehead, she whispered, "Me too, baby. Me too."

**Author's Note:**

> Can we ignore that I'm posting this at like 12:30 ish in the morning? This was half-written already. It's based on RaeLynn's song Love Triangle. Honestly, the music video is gorgeous.


End file.
